It is known to combine a first layer structure with a lower density of electrically conductive elements, such as a printed circuit board (PCB), which may be a high density interconnect structure, with a second layer structure of higher density of electrically conductive elements, such as a substrate, which may be termed as a ultra-high density interconnect structure. In such approaches, the substrate and the PCB are manufactured separately. Only subsequently the substrate and the PCB are combined to yield the final component carrier.
Such conventional approaches may have several disadvantages as they require the use of the additional substrate or of an interposer. In the scenario of ultra high integration density of electrically conductive elements as in a substrate problems arise in that the component carriers, including the components mounted thereon are significantly heated during operation and are not capable of removing the generated heat in a sufficient manner. This results in reliability problems and the danger of overheating. Further, due to the sophisticated electronic functionality and a high integration density of electrically conductive elements and their thin layer architecture, the component carrier may not capable of removing the generated mechanical stress and tensions in a sufficient manner. In particular the additional substrate or interposer which may for instance be made from silicon may not be capable of efficiently dissipating mechanical stress and/or heat.
Further, the second layer structure needs to be connected to the first layer structure for instance by means of an adhesive layer. Common adhesive layers, however, are usually electrically insulating, therefore preventing a direct electrical contact between the first layer structure and the second layer structure. For establishing the electrical contact between the second layer structure and the first layer structure, further process steps are required rendering the manufacturing process less efficient.
Along with the development of electronic industries, electronic products have an ongoing trend towards miniaturization and high performance. Therefore, there may be a need to provide in particular reliable and robust high performance component carriers having an excellent high frequency behavior and which can be manufactured with reasonable manufacturing effort.